Baltimore Schools Pay Out Nearly $65M for Unused Leave over 5 Years

The Baltimore school system has paid its employees about $65 million for unused leave over the past five years, a rare perk that many employers have abandoned and that has come under fire as school districts have experienced shrinking budgets.

Since 2007, the city school system has spent about $22 million on annual cash-outs of unused sick leave accrued by current employees.

In the same period, some of the system's highest-paid and longest-tenured employees have cashed out nearly $43 million in accrued vacation, sick and personal leave when they have resigned or retired, according to an analysis of city schools salary and benefits data provided to The Baltimore Sun.